Egypt’s state-owned Middle East Oil Refinery Company (Midor) signed a 1.2-billion-dollar loan agreement with a banking consortium to increase the refining capacity of the Alexandria refinery lab by 60 %, the Petroleum Ministry said in a statement on .

The loan, extended by Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Italy’s CDP, is part of the company’s $2.3 billion expansion plan, the statement said.

The National Bank of Egypt and Abu Dhabi National Bank will serve as the project's financial consultants.

Petroleum Minister Tarek el Molla, Italian Ambassador in Cairo Giampaolo Cantini, head of the Italian Exports Development Authority and chairman of Italy's TechnipFMC company, the project's public contractor, attended the signing ceremony.

The expansion of Midor refinery lab comes as part of the Petroleum Ministry's plans to increase the production of petroleum products.

After the end of the project, the lab's refining capacity will increase from 4.6 million tons to 7.6 million tons.

In statements, Molla said the loan offered by three international banks mirrors their confidence in the Egyptian national economy and the reform program adopted by the government.

The loan will also help boost Egyptian-Italian cooperation in the petroleum and natural gas domains.